Palmer H. Futcher Papers | Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives

Palmer H. Futcher (1910-2004) was assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine from 1946-1948. He earned his M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1936 in the same class as Washington University faculty member Barry Wood. Wood hired him in the spring of 1946, and he had other appointments in medicine at Barnes Hospital and as chief of the diabetic & endocrine clinic at Washington University Clinics. In 1948, he moved to Johns Hopkins as associate professor of medicine and physician in charge of the private outpatient service of Johns Hopkins Hospital. He held a number of posts at Johns Hopkins including assistant dean. From 1967 to 1975 he was the executive secretary of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

The Palmer H. Futcher note file on Internal Medicine Department presentations, was started by Dr. Futcher during his tenure as assistant professor of medicine, 1946-1948. The card file consists of 4 x 6 inch cards, arranged in two parts, (1) names of presenters, and (2) subjects of their presentations. Futcher’s actual lecture notes are filed in the subject file, with the presenter file serving as an index. Presenters include W. Barry Wood, Carl V. Moore, Edward Reinhard, etc., with guests from other departments, including Carl F. Cori and Robert A. Moore. Notes from presentations in the 1960-1980s are also in the subject file, although most are from 1946-1948.